By: Alexis Caines | Follow me on Twitter / X @alexiscaines_
The Boston Fleet were shut out by the Toronto Sceptres 2-0 on Tuesday night, suffering a rare home loss. The Fleet were treated to a sold-out home crowd on the newly declared “Boston Fleet Olympic Medalist Day” in the City of Boston, which lined up perfectly with St. Patrick’s Day; yet the luck did not come for the Fleet. The two teams had met twice already, with the Fleet taking both games, 3-1 and 2-1. The Sceptres now sit in playoff position with 31 points, while the Fleet hold on to first place with 39.
The first period remained scoreless with both goaltenders standing strong and facing even shots. Netminder Aerin Frankel, the “Green Monster” only faced eight shots, many of which came at high danger. Toronto’s Raygan Kirk came into the game fresh off her first career shutout on Sunday against the Seattle Torrent.
Boston’s power play unit struggled early, only registering two shots on goal in their first two chances. They ranked fourth in the league coming into Tuesday’s matchup. Neither team was able to find the back of the net with special teams in the game.
The second period stayed locked at zeros and got off to a rather sloppy start from both sides. The physicality shinned with Ella Huber of Boston and Ella Shelton of Toronto taking matching roughing penalties. Both Kirk and Frankel remained solid in their respective nets, ending the period again with matching saves at 16 each. With about five minutes remaining in the middle frame, Toronto turned up the heat with a couple high danger shots on Frankel. Despite losing her stick in the fleury, she saved each shot.
Daryl Watts broke the ice close to the halfway point in the third. Watts was able to cut across the middle and deflect the puck to beat Frankel. She was out of the lineup for Toronto on Sunday and bounced back to net her ninth goal of the season.
Boston pulled Frankel with 1:20 remaining in the game to get an extra attacker, but were unsuccessful as Toronto Captain Blayre Turnbull cashed in on the empty net. This marked the Fleet’s first loss on home ice the entire season.
Raygan Kirk collected her second career shutout, coming in back-to-back games. She stopped all 26 shots faced. On the other end of the ice, Frankel recorded her third loss of the season with 28 saves.
Fleet Head Coach Kris Sparre acknowledged that some things went wrong, saying, “I think we were more chaotic with the puck than we typically are and a little less organized in certain areas of our game.”
The Fleet were without Jill Saulnier who is considered day-to-day in concussion protocol. She took a hit from Maggie Flaherty of the Montréal Victoire on Sunday. Olivia Zafuto slotted in for her as the fourth line right wing. There was a new face on the crew tonight as the Fleet welcomed Jessie Eldridge, who was acquired from the Seattle Torrent late Monday night. In her debut for Boston, she recorded 20:36 time on ice and a -2.
After the game, she spoke with the media for the first time, sharing, “Obviously not the result we wanted tonight, [but I can tell] this is a special group. I’m really excited to work with them.”
The Fleet will be back in action on Saturday, March 21st, to host the Seattle Torrent. They’re looking at another sell-out crowd, as the Tsongas Center in Lowell, MA, is already advertising an “Almost Gone” banner. They’ll look to bounce back from the tough loss on Tuesday night and hold on to their top spot.
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